The Food Industry Association (FMI) reported that Safe Quality Food (SQF), its food safety management program, successfully completed a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pilot program and that the SQF Food Safety Code: Food Manufacturing, Edition 9 and the SQF Addendum for the Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule are in alignment with the Preventive Controls for Human Foods Rule, one of the main rules under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
“As the food industry association, FMI strives to bring all aspects of the food industry together, and this recognition by FDA will make SQF an even more essential part of the fabric of the food industry,” said Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of FMI. “For decades, we have upheld the SQF food safety program within the manufacturing sector, and we expanded our reach across other segments within the supply chain in recent years, including produce operations, storage and distribution centers, food packaging manufacturers, and foodservice and retail operations. Food facilities with SQF certification have the highest level of food safety management systems. With FDA’s recognition today, firms purchasing from SQF-certified facilities should have more assurances that their food safety programs are consistent with FDA regulations under the Preventive Controls for Human Foods Rule.”
SQF showed how its procedure links to more than 500 aspects of the Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule throughout the course of the pilot. Buyers can feel more confident as a result of this acknowledgement that SQF audits, which generally cover FDA food safety criteria, adhere to the SQF Food Safety Code: Food Manufacturing, Edition 9 and the SQF Addendum for the Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule.
More than 13,000 recognized sites are part of the SQF network, which spans more than 40 nations. The Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule requires that foreign facilities that produce food for American consumers do so in a way that offers the same level of public health protection. Likewise, importers should have faith that SQF audits carried out in compliance with the FDA’s pilot program are a helpful tool in figuring out whether international suppliers satiate the relevant FDA food safety standards.
The Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), a branch of FMI, The Food Industry Association, is the organization in charge of running the Safe Quality Food (SQF) program. The SQF program, a top-tier certification and management system for food safety and quality, is administered by FMI. Although SQFI is best known for its worldwide recognized program for food safety and quality, the SQFI team is involved in much more than just creating and upholding this standard. The objective of SQFI is to provide reliable, globally recognized systems for certifying food safety and quality that are based on good scientific principles, applicable to various business sectors, and appreciated by all stakeholders. Retailers, brand owners, and food service providers all around the world have come to trust and respect the SQFI Program as a rigorous and reliable food safety and quality management program.
Find out more at: https://www.SQFI.com